Posted on 05 January 2008

Creative writing is not immune to information technology. The literary equivalent to music’s Ipod is the ebook reader and there are many portable devices into readers can download an electronic version of a novel or magazine. Alternatives to specific ebooks are PDAs, laptops and some mobile phones.

Fictionwise (http://www.fictionwise.com/) is a US website which formats books and magazines for web distribution to e book readers such as the ‘Amazon Kindle’ or ‘Sony Reader’. They take a file from the publisher and convert it to the multitude of formats needed to ensure all E book readers and many ‘mobile’ devices can display the text.

Fictionwise sell the files through their website though publishers can also do it themselves via their own, or retailer, sites.

‘MultiFormat’ ebooks are not encrypted and paying for one type of download format allows free access to other formats of that ebook. So customers who update to a new e reader or mobile device do not lose access to their library.Read the full story

Posted on 16 February 2007

With the recent demise of both Scifantastic and Here and Now it was time once again for the doomsayers to emerge from the woodwork and proclaim the imminent end of the short fiction market. Fortunately we’re able to counter that with the launch last month of Hub, the forthcoming Murky Depths and this week issue #1 of Fiction magazine.

The team behind Fiction also come with that essential element for the launch of a new magazine – boundless optimism. In the editorial on the first page they acknowledge that the full-colour glossy paper hasn’t actually materialised, but throughout the magazine there’s a vibrancy and positivity that it can only go from strength to strength. The editorial and reviews are written in a friendly, informal style, and there are plenty of comments thrown in between to make you feel really involved in this new endeavour. The whole mag has the feel of a website brought to paper and, like the other two new magazines, this gives it a style and feel that stands out as something different.

So what of the fiction, which is, after all, the title of the magazine? There are three stories in this issue, a little mean I thought, but they are all of decent length and make the magazine a respectable 60 A5 pages.

The first story, Sam, is by Terence W Martin, who is coincidentally the editor of Murky Depths and who even more coincidentally lives about ½ a mile from me. The eponymous Sam is a mysterious old man who befriends and adopts an orphan boy. The two obviously have some kind of connection, and Sam is more than he seems, but while several years are briefly condensed there is still a good feel for the relationship that develops between them. What Sam wants out of the relationship and who he actually is are not startling when revealed, but the story comes across with a warmth and a sense of history that make it a pleasant read.

Paul May’s Motorway Madness is set on the automated motorways of the future. It mixes gadgetry and gimmicks with the old adage of a woman scorned; for the unfortunate chap driving along in his automated car his ex-lover happens to be one of the designers of the system. The tension builds nicely and the pages flashed by as quick as the billboards, keeping me hooked to the end.

An entirely too plausible crusade in the not too distant future is the setting for Martin McGrath’s Soldier of God. It’s full of action and adventure and portrays an air of cynicism and irony that lend it a convincing voice. It adds a nice variety to the collection and I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring us next time.

Posted on 31 July 2005

Founded in 1982, Interzone has maintained its position as one of the world’s leading professional Science Fiction and Fantasy magazines, nominated for a Hugo many years running and winning in 1995, a reputation that the new team will be making every effort to enhance and improve.

TTA Press took over from the previous publishers from issue 194 (September/October 2004).

Prior to that, it was published by David Pringle and his gang. It was a stylish, 68 page, (monthly/bi monthly depending on the schedule) containg around 6 or 7 short stories. It included both well known authors and up and coming authors. The kind of stories were what I would term proper SF. They made you think. They were impressive, and most of all they were enjoyable.

As well as the fiction, there were articles of non-fiction which included book reviews, interviews and movie reviews. They were intelligently written and almost as interesting as the fiction.

So, in issue 193 they announced that there was a change of management, and that there was an ‘incoming publisher’. We held our collective breath…

I must admit, that when they announced a change of publisher I wondered exactly how Interzone itself would be affected. I have seen all too many times, an entity is taken over and all of a sudden it becomes unrecognisable for what it was. The new owners have big ideas, which can invariably have a negative impact on how it appears from then on.

It appeared to me as if it was the backbone of British SF and it seemed to be the general consensus from other critics.

Along came issue 194.
My first impressions were from the way the presentation had changed. I held in my hand a glossy Manga style magazine. The main obvious changes were to the logo and the fonts had changed to be more ‘trendy’. I could see immediately that they were trying to push the magazine from it’s ‘fanzine’ look, to a more commercially viable look.

Opening issue 194 showed that they had re arranged the content presentation as well as the content. The look was definately crisper, easier to read, and somehow just looked better. The artwork seemed to revolve around the content of the page it was on. For example there were drawings which fitted in with the page of the story it was on.

Upon comparing the non-fiction areas, I could see that there were still the main areas as there were before, gossip, movie and novel reviews. But in addition there was a new computer game page. Hmm I thought. This instinctively struck me as a bad move. If I wanted to read about computer games, I’d buy a computer game magazine. But after reading the column, and subsequent columns, it shows that in fact, it fits in well. The column is written with SF in mind. Even though I wouldn’t personally buy a game from the sole writings in the column, it makes interesting reading.

The fiction itself was pretty much the same as before, which I breathed a sigh of relief to. But being wary, I wanted to read each subsequent issue to see if there would be a gradual change.

The format lasted from 194 to 198. I think during this time, the publisher were ‘testing the water’, trying various tweeks to the format (as it is in fact only the format and presentation which has changed), and getting feedback from readers.

And along came 199. And it blew me away.
Again, the changes were primarily presentation, but it makes it so much more of a proper magazine. The artwork is still just as excellent. The fiction and non fiction sections are just as good. But now the changes to the look and feel of the magazine seems to have thrust it into a format which could be displayed in a high street newsagents.

The feedback from their readers seems to have payed off. It has a masthead and more of an identifiable front cover. It has been toned down slightly, the logo is no longer in such a ‘futuristic’ font.

I noticed also they’ve put a few choice keywords on the front - Aliens! Murder! Celebrities! Dragons! Sex! Food! I’m not sure what the mentality is behind this choice of words, but I have a feeling that the publisher are aiming for a larger market, something that will sit on a newsagents shelf and be catching to the eye. The picture of the cyberamazon girl with big tits and a laser kind of implies that too.

Looking back, Interzones pre 194 were pretty stagnant. I would envisage this is because it was a case of ‘why fix what isn’t broken’. The format worked. But now, post 193, Interzone is going through many changes to simply bring it upto date.

And it is certainly working. I will continue to subscribe. You can subscribe to Interzone here too. You won’t be disappointed.
So, it’s been revamped and revamped again, and the publishers are improving it all the time. It is very much the better for it. It should be available at WH Smiths (at Waterloo for tired commuters wanting to escape the reality of being stuck on a packed, sweaty train).

A last thought: A few Interzone Anthologies have been released over the years containing key stories through the lifetime of the magazine. It was, infact, how I first got to hear about the publication. I would hate to think that these compilations won’t be carried on. Let’s hope the new publisher have the time/energy/money to bring out the first 21st Century Interzone Compilation.